Salem nurse accused of selling prescription pain killers

SALEM — A 61-year-old nurse is under arrest, accused of selling prescription pain medication to an undercover officer. Theresa Moore of Salem is charged with one count of sale of a controlled drug.

Moore was arrested after an abbreviated investigation because she is employed as a nurse at Salem Haven, a local nursing home, police said.

Deputy Police Chief Shawn J. Patton said investigators acted quickly even though they have yet to determine if the drugs being sold were stolen from the nursing home or its residents.

Detectives obtained arrest and search warrants for her apartment and, during her arrest, police said she pulled out a prescription bottle containing 63 pills she had hidden in her bra.

Investigators also seized several empty prescription bottles, cash and other pills. The case remains under investigation.

Moore is free on $1,000 personal recognizance bail.

Police also arrested two other people on drug charges in unrelated investigations. Todd Gurley, 41, of Hampstead, was arrested on three counts of sale of a controlled drug — OxyContin and Suboxon; possession of a controlled drug in a vehicle; and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

He is accused of selling drugs to undercover detectives on three occasions in the past month. The case remains open with charges pending against other individuals as well.

Valerie Watson, 62, of Salem, was the third person arrested.. She is charged with three counts of sale of controlled drugs — OxyContin and Percocet. She is accused of selling the prescription medications in three separate sales to undercover detectives.